Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. ~F. Scott Fitzgerald
We’ve been knocked back a few times this past week.
First it was the Supreme Court’s decision about the Muslim ban.
Then it was the Supreme Court’s decision about Unions.
Then it was the news of Justice Kennedy’s retirement.
Every day – every hour, it seemed – we got reason after reason to put our heads under the covers and cry … But you didn’t. Or, at least, you didn’t stay there long.
You reached out to me, and to one another, and asked what on earth we can do to stop this mess. I started to see more mobilization. More strategy. More creativity.
I saw more energy, frankly, than I’ve seen since November 2016.
It got me thinking.
If you’ve ever taken martial arts like judo or jujutsu, you’ve heard of the art of breaking balance. It’s called “kuzushi.”
With kuzushi, you take advantage of your opponent’s momentum. You apply it against them to “break their balance.” If you get someone to push or pull harder than their foundation can bear, they’re easier to topple.
So you learn how to take the force and energy that your opponent has used to put you on your heels to send him to the floor.
Last week the GOP got in a lot of punches.
They unleashed a lot of energy – on their side, and on ours.
Coalitions all across the progressive movement were impacted by last week’s insanity – labor, women, immigrants rights advocates, health care advocates – the list goes on and on. Every one of them put back on their heels.
Every one of them under increased pressure to fight back.
Every one of them with new momentum to fight for us all.
Last week was a reminder of just how much we are under attack.
Let’s use that momentum to fight back harder.
Let’s get to work.
Actions
Tuesday: Join Us and Dump Trump
We all want to do everything we can to stop this administration. One of the most important things we can do is to help ensure that it won’t continue past 2020. I hope just as much as you do that we won’t even get to 2020, but if we do we need to be ready for a presidential election that looks more like a cage match than a political contest.
And as much as I hate to talk dollars and cents, it’s just a fact that we’ll need a well-funded nominee. DT started fundraising for his reelection campaign the day he was inaugurated. He’s already got $20 million in the bank.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a million bucks rolling around in my bank account. So what’s a Resister to do?
Enter Dump Trump. Just launched on Friday and headed up by the It Starts Today team, it’s crowdfunding for a better democracy.
Every single dollar you donate will go to the 2020 Democratic nominee.
And with the power of our numbers, we have the capacity to blow him out of the water. Honestly, if just 1% of the people who voted against Donald Trump in 2016 donated $5/month, we’d have over $100 million dollars to hand over to the Democratic nominee.
This is completely do-able, but only if we all work together and only if we start soon. So go sign up for as little as $1/month (super painless – and less than a pack of gum, for gosh sake) and know that you’re putting your money where your mouth is.
Full disclosure – I’m part of the team at Dump Trump, so it’s true that I’m completely and utterly invested in this venture. But I wouldn’t help with it if I didn’t think it was an awesome idea. So I hope you’ll join us! We had an amazing launch – with $12.5k already raised (!!) and I have a hair-brained idea of tripling that by this Friday.
Help me prove that’s possible!!
Wednesday: Take a Beat to Remember Why We Fight (And Remind the Electeds that You See!)
Sometimes it’s hard to remember what it was like before November 2016. But I hope that on this Fourth of July you let yourself look back a bit to remind yourself why we’re fighting so hard. If there are parades in your neck of the woods I hope you’ll march with MOMs, or local political candidates – or just go and laugh and celebrate. It’s time to reflect on who we really are, and the efforts of so many of us to protect that tradition. Have fun!
And while you’re there…. if you’re going to a parade chances are pretty good that you’ll see local and regional elected officials. Take that opportunity to tell them how you feel. Last year people reached out to Senator Susan Collins again and again as she walked down a parade route, asking her to vote to protect the ACA. Those requests stuck with her – and the results are historic. This year, please do the same. Whether it’s common sense gun reform, women’s reproductive freedom, black lives, LGBTQ rights, separated families or the environment, there’s a whole lot to talk about. So bring the issues to them in whatever way you can.
Thursday: Just Say No To Trump’s Extreme Supreme Court Candidates
Yes, friends. It’s bad that Trump has another opportunity to appoint someone to the Supreme Court. And unfortunately, procedurally there’s not a whole lot that we can do to stop it except to encourage our Democratic Senators to stay the course and refuse to vote for the extremist candidates on his list – and try to get a few Republican Senators to join them. Literally every one of the SCOTUS candidates is extreme – our health care and control of our own bodies is at stake here, so it’s not time to take it laying down.
Once again, the folks at Indivisible really nailed it with their script and their explainer on this issue. So check out their script and call your Senators!
Friday: Keep Up the Fight for Separated Families
What an amazing sight to see – so many people across the country, joined together in the fight to reunite separated families. So many of you are looking for additional ways to help, and here’s a great list of organizations that are looking for people across the country that can give them a lift. From providing short-term housing to making care packages, chances are there’s a project that you’d be interested in.
And of course, keep up the pressure on your electeds. Chances are really good that they’ll be around and about over the holiday weekend, so don’t let them off on this issue.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for writing. I read and respond to every e-mail. (Really! I really do!) We’re in this together.
If you want one more quick action, make someone’s day and send this pep talk to a friend or two.
If you’d like to sign up to get this pep talk and action list in your in-box each week, you can do that here. Welcome, friend!
Lastly, if you’d like to support this work (thanks to those who have done so!), you can become a supporter here.
Small Deeds Done 